CTrees

Data-driven digital redesign of the global non-profit organization with a mission to inform climate change policies by tracking carbon in every tree on the planet.

Pentagram worked closely with the CTrees team to develop a larger design system that mirrors the poetic precision of data with the striking beauty of nature.

The team had to evolve the organization's existing brand identity as well as find a new visual language for representing the complexity and beauty of CTrees' work.

Early sketches from Team Lupi exploring initial concepts and visual directions.

This project builds on Team Lupi's deep experience with climate-forward organizations, an example in how visual storytelling and data design are powerful tools in advancing policy and social progress.

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About the project

Made up of scientists and engineers with more than two decades of expertise across their fields, Ctrees is dedicated to shaping climate policy by monitoring the carbon stored in every tree worldwide. As a non-profit, it has developed the first global system capable of measuring carbon across all forests—tracking both emissions and removals at a planetary scale, right down to individual trees. To achieve this, CTrees processes vast quantities of satellite data and delivers its insights to policymakers and researchers through a range of advanced tools, maps, and digital interfaces.

Giorgia Lupi and her team at Pentagram were brought in to translate this mission into a fully reimagined digital experience. The task involved not only refining the existing brand identity but also establishing a new visual language capable of conveying both the intricacy and the elegance of CTrees’ work—spanning data analysis, mapping, and climate research within a unified system.

The website’s structure is inspired by the natural growth of a tree, serving as its central organizational concept. The homepage unfolds like a trunk, guiding users vertically from the overarching mission down to the foundational methodologies. Along this journey, branching pathways lead to key tools and technologies, such as the Land Carbon Map, which quantifies carbon stored in forests globally, and LUCA (Land Use Change Alerts), a system that monitors forest disturbances from 2018 onward. This evolving layout highlights the real-world relevance and impact of these tools for both scientific and policy-driven audiences.

Beyond the homepage, Pentagram collaborated closely with CTrees to build a broader design system that balances analytical precision with the visual richness of the natural world. Forest canopies are illustrated with dotted networks to represent global ecosystems, while satellite imagery is paired with clear infographics that explain the organization’s tools within the wider climate technology context. Additional custom graphics—such as orbital rings, node-like constellations, and radial patterns—reinforce the global scale of CTrees’ mission.

This work reflects Team Lupi’s continued engagement with climate-focused initiatives, demonstrating how thoughtful data visualization and storytelling can support meaningful policy and societal change. The resulting platform is rooted in scientific rigor, communicates complexity with clarity, and encourages users to better understand forests—not just as landscapes, but as vital systems storing carbon and shaping the planet’s future.

Client

CTrees

Sector

Non-profits
Technology
Climate & Sustainability

Discipline

Digital Experiences
Data Driven Experiences

Office

New York

Partner

Giorgia Lupi

Publications

Ahmedabad

Connect

CTrees

MINI x DEUS

Location

Phone

Email